Shattered
by MEOW-I-am-a-cat
Summary: AU where Anna dies and Elsa must reign as queen alone. Takes place from the great thaw onward.
1. Chapter 1

**This was kind of inspired by a fanfic I saw on tumblr (can't remember the person's url or the title of said fanfic for the life of me, though) where Elsa dies and Anna becomes queen, and I wondered what it would be like if Anna had died and Elsa had to rule as queen without her sister.**

* * *

"Your sister is dead... because of you," Hans told the ice queen.

Elsa, terrified at the thought that her sister, the only person she had ever loved, was dead, fell to her knees, tears streaming their way down her face. The swirling storm stopped, frozen in time. The flurries of snow hung in the air, and the wind ceased. All was silent, except for Elsa's muffled sobs.

Across the fjord, Anna stood, alive, though possibly not for long, stumbling her way to her real true love's kiss.

"Kristoff," she whispered.

"Anna," he called out back to her.

The pair forged on, trying to get to each other in time, when the sound of sword being drawn distracted Anna, and turned her attention to the one she had thought was her true love, about the kill her sister.

"Elsa." Anna ran to her sister. She knew she had to save her. "No!" She threw herself between Elsa and the sword, hoping to save her sister. Just then, the ice began to cover her, and within seconds, she was frozen solid, as if she were nothing more than an ice sculpture.

As Hans' sword connected with Anna's frozen form, it began to freeze itself, until it was cold and brittle. The sword struck the princess, and both shattered into a million pieces. Princess Anna of Arendelle was no more, just a heap of shards of ice mixed with the slivers of metal which killed her.

The clatter of the ice and metal falling to the frozen fjord caused Elsa to look up from her crying. She turned to face her broken sister behind her. Anna's face had stayed intact, and was now staring up from the mound at Elsa. She reached out to hold it, realizing this would be the last time she could ever hold her sister.

"Anna? Anna!" she muttered, as if saying the name would somehow repair her back into life. Suddenly it dawned on her. Anna was dead. But it had not been her own fault. It was Hans who had murdered her. Elsa looked up at the tall figure looming above her. "You," she said to him. "You killed her. Not me."

"So?" he sneered. "She's dead either way. What does it matter who did the deed? It's not like she'll be coming back to life any time soon. Besides, she was frozen before I struck her. You killed her first."

"No! She could have been saved! She still could have gotten her act of true love. But now she's been shattered. And that one's all on you." Elsa rose to her feet and announced to the people watching from the safety of the castle and all who could hear, "I, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, charge Prince Hans of the Southern Isles with murder, and sentence him to death!" She looked Hans in the eyes coldly. "I think it should seem fit for you to die in the same way you kill." She raised her hand and sent an icy blast at Hans' heart, just as she had done to Anna, except this time her actions were caused by malice more than fear. Hans began to turn as pale as Anna had been before her death within only seconds, as this blast had been much stronger and much more concentrated.

"No. Please. Spare me," he begged for mercy, shivering all over.

"Well, I suppose if you found your true love's kiss in time, you _might_ live. But... Oh, Hans. If only there was someone out there who loved you," Elsa taunted. She turned and marched back to the palace gates, pausing on her way to instruct a guard. "You! Gather the shards of his sword and bring them to me. And you! When he is frozen, strike him with your sword. You saw what he did to your princess! Now do the same to him."

"But – My queen –" the soldier tried to protest.

"But _what_?! Would you rather be frozen with him?!" The guard frantically shook his head. "Then I suggest you do as I say, before I freeze every last one of you!" she screamed to the citizens watching. She stormed into the castle, the doors slamming behind her.

Hans was frozen before even a minute had gone by. The guard stepped forward to do his duty.

"If you can hear me, Prince Hans, I am sorry for having to execute you, but I have to say that you deserve it. You have killed our princess, and caused a great grief to settle on the people of Arendelle. Goodbye."

The sword came down on the icy prince, and his fate was sealed. Prince Hans of the Southern Isles was no more. He had made a choice, and that choice led him to his death.


	2. Chapter 2

**I felt like rewriting Let It Go for this, so I did. It kind of turned out to be a mashup of the original and the Demi Lovato version, and I know my best friend despises the Demi Lovato version for some reason, so I figured I'd give you a fair warning. I dunno.**

* * *

Elsa became the ruling queen, though the people of Arendelle could not, in honesty, say she was a _good_ Queen. She refused to remove the eternal winter she had set upon the land. After all, she didn't know how. Without ever learning that love will thaw, and having no one to love anyway, it wasn't like she could melt all her ice, even if she wanted to.

So the queen, once again alone, did the only thing she knew how to do. She locked herself away from her subjects. She adorned her gloves. She only stepped foot out of her room if she had to meet with someone. She ruled like that – alone, isolated – for years, each night crying herself to sleep over her now long dead sister.

Every morning she would look out her window to the place where Anna saved her. Every night, she would lie on her bed, tears streaming down her face, missing her sister and wishing she herself had died instead. She had taken the remainder of the sword and fashioned a crown of it, a painful reminder of what had happened.

And that it how she ruled. An evil dictator. But not by choice. It was sadness and pain that turned her.

* * *

The people all stayed indoors, out of the cold. Eventually, they began to die off, one by one, of sickness and hypothermia.

Elsa realized she was doing her kingdom no good by simply moping in her room, grieving. She realized she needed to let go of Anna's death.

She gazed out her window at the frozen, empty land.

"_The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not footprint to be seen,_" she sang softly and slowly. A sad reprise of the song from when she first got her freedom. She sighed. "_A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the queen. The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside. Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried._" She began to repeat her personal mantra, the phrase that helped her to not destroy her city further. "_Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good girl you always have to be. Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know. Well now they know!_" She turned away from her window, and rushed out her door, and down the hallway. "_Let it go! Let it go! Can't hold me back anymore! Let it go! Let it go! Turn away and slam the door!_" She had reached the gates, and with a gust of wind, they shut behind her. She ran down the streets of the kingdom, citizens glancing out their windows for a moment before drawing their curtains in fear. "_I don't care what they're going to say. Let the storm rage on._" She stepped out of the village, and into the wilderness. "_The cold never bothered me anyway._"

She climbed the mountain before her. She hoped to get to the top, where she could be free. She would live in her ice palace. Arendelle's castle had never been her home. She was almost there when she turned around and looked back.

"_It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small. And the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all!_" She forged ahead. "_Up here in the cold, thin air I finally can breath. I know I left a life behind, but I'm too relieved to grieve! Let it go! Let it go! I am one with the wind and sky. Let it go! Let it go! You'll never see me cry!_" She had reached her palace, the only place she had ever felt free or welcome in her life. "_Here I stand, and here I'll stay! Let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyway._" She delighted in feeling at home. She could use her magic without hurting anyone. She could live without fear. She was alone, but she was free.

"_Standing, frozen, in the life I've chosen. You won't find me. The past is all behind me, buried in the snow. Let it go! Let it go! And I'll rise like the break of dawn! Let it go! Let it go! That perfect queen is gone! Here I stand in the light of day! Let the storm rage on! The cold never bothered me anyway._"

* * *

The Ice Queen spent the next month or so living alone in her new castle. The only down part of it was how often she caught herself expecting Anna to knock on the door to bring Elsa home. Each time she pushed this thought out of her mind. _Anna is not coming_, she reminded herself, careful not to think of why. _You are alone. This is your home now. This is where you live._


	3. Chapter 3

**And here's Do You Want To Build A Snowman. This marks the end of the songs. Why only two? Because I felt like it. Oh, and, because this is mostly in a flashback, instead of the song parts being in italics (whoops forgot to mention that before...), it's going to be the narration in italics and then the song part in regular type. Until we get out of the flashback. Oh, well, sorry if it's confusing.**

* * *

True to her mental reminders, she lived there. She thanked herself each day for going far enough away from Arendelle to build her castle so that she could not see it from any point. It was gone, along with all reminders of Anna. Or so she hoped.

Each night Elsa was plagued with memories. And each night, she cast them out of her mind, only to have others take its place. She still cried herself to sleep. Even though she knew it was hopeless, she found herself wishing for a knock. Then one day, it came.

* * *

She tried her very best to forget, but it was a difficult task. One of the most often memories that snuck their way into her mind was the countless times Anna had come to Elsa's door asking her to build a snowman. And the countless times Elsa had pushed her away.

* * *

"_Elsa?" Little five-year-old Anna knocked on her sister's door. "_Do you want to build a snowman? Come on let's go and play! I never see you anymore. Come out the door; it's like you've gone away! We used to be best buddies, and now we're not. I wish you would tell me why! Do you want to build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman._"_

_Elsa considered coming out and playing, but something in the back of her mind reminded her that it was too dangerous._

"_Go away, Anna!" she shouted through the door._

"Okay, bye._" Anna wandered away dejectedly._

* * *

_Years later, she returned._

"Do you want to build a snowman? Or ride our bike around the hall? I think some company is overdue..._" Her voice wandered away as she ran off throughout the castle._

"_You're right, Anna," Elsa whispered, knowing Anna would never hear her. "Some company _is_ overdue. I want to spend time with you, too."_

* * *

An actual knock sounded throughout the ice palace. Elsa ignored it. No one who mattered now would be coming. The only one who ever had meant anything to her was dead. She couldn't be bothered to let whoever it was it.

"Elsa?" a voice called out, just as Anna had done when she was fifteen. "_Please, I know you're in there. People are asking where you've been. They said 'have courage,' and I know you're trying to. I'm right out here for you. Just let me in. We only have each other; it's just you and me. What are we going to do?_" It was the same words Anna had used, but a different voice. How did this one know the words? It had to be just a coincidence. But her curiosity got the best of her, and drew her to the door. Cautiously, she opened it, peaking out at her visitor. A familiar face looked back at her, but not one she could place a name with.

"You," she said. "You're the one who came here with Anna before..." Her voice trailed off.

"Kristoff," he supplied, so as not to be known as "You" for the rest of his time there.

She tried out the name. "Kristoff. Why – why are you here?"

"It's been months, Elsa. Running away is not going to help anything. Arendelle is still frozen and people are still sick and dying."

"And you've only come today?" she accused.

"I've been in the mountains. I loved Anna, too, you know. I have a reason to grieve, too. You're not the only one who's been affected. You're not the only one with a problem. I have just spent the last _year _alone!"

"So have I! You think I locked myself in my room again, and now shut myself away up here because I thought it would be _fun_? I don't _like_ being alone! I spent my entire _life_ shut away from people, and when I come out, look what happens! The only person I ever loved is dead!"

"The same can be said for me! I lived with _trolls_ my entire life, only coming to the city for business! And the first human I actually meet, I end up falling in love with, and now she's dead!" Kristoff shouted back. "Just face it; both of us have the worst luck when it comes to people."

"Finally you've said something I can agree with," Elsa told him. "Now, I know that Arendelle is still frozen, but what do you expect me to do about it? I don't know how to thaw it!"

"You could at least try and come back. You can help the people. You can do whatever Hans did when Anna put him in charge to go after you. Minus the plotting to kill, of course. Take care of your people. And if you can't, just send them to live somewhere else. There are plenty of warm places they could go. They just need some means to get there. I can help transport some, but no one will listen to some random ice harvester when he tells them to get in a sled. You need to organize it all. I need your help."

"I don't want to be alone."

"Then come with us! We can leave the past behind us and start new lives! Pretend Arendelle never existed! Pretend this whole thing never happened!"

"And pretend that I never had a sister? That you never loved anyone? And what if I freeze the next place? And the next, and the next? I can't just keep running away! I need to unfreeze Arendelle! I need to set right what I've done! I can't just leave."

"So you're just going to keep them all captive while you try and figure out the secret to thawing the frozen?"

"Yes! – No! – Oh, I don't know! But there has to be a way! There _has_ to be!"

"Then will you at least come back to Arendelle to find it? Staying up here will be no use whatsoever."

Elsa finally relented. She let Kristoff lead her back. But he had a slight detour in mind...


	4. Chapter 4

**Here we are again, with more sadness, tears, and misery. Oh, how I love causing characters emotional pain!**

* * *

"The... _trolls_?" Elsa questioned Kristoff, uncertain.

"Yes, the trolls. They helped with Anna – twice, apparently – so I'm sure they can help with you. You need a way to save Arendelle, and, chances are, these guys have one."

Elsa sighed. She didn't like the trolls. She didn't even have good reason to, she just didn't. She knew she should be grateful to them, given that her sister stayed alive for as long as she had with their help, but Elsa still didn't want to trust them. Their magic unnerved her. Even her own magic unnerved her. But eventually, after careful consideration, she relented. "Fine."

* * *

"Hello?" Kristoff called out into the boulder-filled valley. "We need your help again."

The trolls rolled in to surround Kristoff and Elsa and sprung to life.

"Kristoff! Where have you been? It's been forever! How did that true love's kiss work out for your friend?" a troll asked.

"It didn't. She... She died," he told them, his voice filling with sorrow. "That's why I haven't been back."

"Oh. _Oh_." The trolls lost their usual energetic nature and became more downcast. "Welcome back, I guess. Who's this you've brought with you?" it asked, noticing Elsa.

"Elsa," Elsa spoke up, extending her hand politely to the troll.

"Queen of Arendelle," Kristoff added, earning him a glare from Elsa. She preferred not to use the title that plagued her."Arendelle's still frozen, and we need your help to reverse it. You do know how, right?"

"Well, of course we do, but you know, too."

"Wait, what?" Elsa asked. "What do you mean we already know?"

"Kristoff, dear, we've already told you," the troll continued.

"An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart..." Kristoff muttered to himself. "True love will thaw a frozen heart... True love will thaw..." Finally, the pieces clicked together. "Love will thaw!" he exclaimed.

"But... Who do I have to love?" Elsa asked. "Anna's dead, and no one could ever love a monster like me."

"You could try just telling Anna you loved her."

"But she's _dead_! You can't talk to the dead!"

"Look, just come to her grave. Just tell her. Please. It couldn't hurt to try." Kristoff was sure his plan would work. He was convinced this could save Arendelle. Elsa just didn't feel like arguing. She decided to just let him try, and follow along with his plans, no matter how ridiculous they seemed to her.

* * *

Anna had been buried with her parents. Her grave was directly between their headstones, at the exact spot she had stood during their funeral. There was a place reserved for Elsa, but Elsa didn't want to think of the day when she, too, would join her family six feet under. She just wanted to get this over with.

Kristoff had dropped her off a ways away, saying, "It would be better if you two were alone," so Elsa had to walk to the three graves alone. It was only her second time visiting, the first being Anna's funeral.

A tear slid down Elsa's face, freezing over as it fell, until it was just a drop of ice plummeting into the snow beneath Elsa's feet. A bouquet of icy flowers was hanging down from Elsa's hand. She wished she could have found real flowers, but, being in the middle of an eternal winter, everything was dead, and Elsa had to settle on a bouquet made of ice magic.

Elsa knelt in the snow and placed the flowers gently before Anna's gravestone.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry that I was the death of you. Without me, you would never have turned to ice. Hans would have never tried to kill me. Arendelle wouldn't be frozen. Sometimes I wish you were the only one of us to have been born. You could have led a normal life. You could've had your happily ever after. And I wouldn't need one. But I'm the only one who's alive now, and I'm sorry about that. I know it's probably too late to say it, but... Anna, I love you. Present-tense love. Not loved, as if it's a thing of the past. I _still_ love you. I always did. Even when you're not here anymore for me to love, I still do. I love you, Anna, and I always have and always will." The tears came hot and fast. They spilled onto the cold stone.

Elsa looked up, expecting to see the snow and ice gone, or at least beginning to melt. But such was not the case. The land was as frozen as it had been for the past year. Elsa stood, looked to the sky, and shouted to no one in particular, "What?! Is this not good enough for you?! What else do you expect from me? I gave you an act of true love! Was that not enough?! Did I do something wrong? Does the person have to be alive or something? That's not fair! How can you curse me like that?! Why do _I_ have to lose my family? Why do _I_ have to be the one to kill my sister? It's not fair!" She let out another sob. It hadn't worked. The curse remained. Elsa trudged back to find Kristoff. The only thing left to do was clear out Arendelle so that she couldn't hurt any more people.


	5. Chapter 5

**The longest chapter I have ever written (There might be one that comes close, perhaps passes it, though). Also the most confusing. But anyway, this is the end. Yeah, it's short, but hey, the fact that this chapter is so long kind of makes up for it, I think.**

* * *

Elsa ran into the castle.

"Build up the fires! Prepare the extra bedrooms! Make some warm food!" she called out to the staff. The servants hurried to obey her commands.

"Where have you been, my queen?" one maid stopped to inquire.

"Alone. I needed time alone, away from Arendelle. Time to think. And I know now what I must do. Get the castle ready for guests. Anyone who needs anything will be welcome to stay for as long as they need. We will be moving the citizens out of Arendelle soon. I don't know how to make Arendelle safe again."

"But where will you go?"

"I shall stay here," Elsa told her. "I can't risk freezing another kingdom. It will be the best option. It is safest. Now go. Prepare. I must gather the people myself." Elsa rushed back out, knocking on every door and shouting out her message: "Free lodging and food in the castle! Pack your bags! You will all be leaving soon!"

People poked their heads out their doors to see what was going on.

"What do you mean, 'we're leaving?!'" one yelled.

"Arendelle is not safe for you. People have died. You need to go somewhere you can live happily," Elsa told them. "Now, please, go to the castle with everything you will be bringing with you. But only take what you will need."

"I'm not going anywhere near that castle of yours!" another screamed. "You're just going to take us all captive and freeze us like you did your sister!"

Elsa was shocked by their words. How could they think she would hurt them?

"No!" she denied the claims. "I'm not going to hurt you! Servants are preparing the castle right now to accommodate you all. We have warm food and beds! Your sick can rest while you wait to leave!"

She tried her best to fend off the lies. But the people would not believe her.

"Please!" she begged. "I just want to help you!" Her eyes welled up in tears. "I want to save you. I don't want you all to live the life I was forced to. I want your lives to be warm, and filled with happiness and your families! You cannot stay here! You need to leave!"

Very few people realized that she was genuine. But those who did trusted her. They saw the truth in Elsa's words, and decided to follow her wishes. Those people slowly retreated back to their homes to gather their precious belongings and family members. As they slowly headed down the roads to the castle, others saw them. They who were shouting insults and accusations at the queen fell silent. They watched with curious and suspicious eyes. _What could be happening?_ they wondered. _Why would people be _listening_ to this heathen's instructions?_ They could make no sense of what they saw. But eventually, they realized their neighbors and friends might be right. That going to the castle would be best. And so they followed. The only one who remained was Elsa, who knelt in the centre of the street, tears flowing down her face. One person, a young woman staggering behind, approached the fallen queen and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Queen Elsa?" the girl, who could be no older than eighteen, asked, causing Elsa to look up. Elsa was startled by the girl's appearance. She resembled strikingly her late sister. "Follow your own words and come back to your home. Like you said, no one deserves to stay out in this cold, least of all you. Come. I can walk with you, if you like. Keep you company."

Elsa took the girl's extended hand and pulled herself to her feet, thanking the girl profoundly. "I would like that very much. May I ask your name?"

The girl flushed red and turned her face to the ground, mumbling something inaudible.

"Pardon? I don't think I caught that."

"Oh, um, well, funny story, really..." she stammered. "My name's actually... Elsa, too. My parents probably would have named me Anna, but the Princess was only two months old when I was born, and I suppose they didn't want anyone to get confused over which 'baby Anna' they were talking about, so I got your name. And, funny enough, I grew up to look exactly like Anna. We always joked that if my name had been 'Anna' I'd look like you."

"Where is your family? Are they already at the castle?" At the older Elsa's words, the younger instantly lost the smile on her face and returned to staring at the ground. "Oh, I'm sorry," the queen apologized. "If you don't want to answer, you don't have to. I should have realized, you walking alone and such and –"

"No," the younger of the two cut her off. "It's fine. My father was one of the ice harvesters. One day he fell into the water. They pulled him out quick enough, but it was so cold he caught hypothermia extremely quickly, and they were too far up the mountain to get the medical assistance needed in time. I had just turned seven at the time. My mother, she died in a house fire over the past year. Don't ask me how the house caught fire in the middle of winter, because I have no idea. I suspect magic was involved. Either way, I've decided that if I want to live, I should just avoid all extremes of weather and temperature!" she joked, causing the queen to laugh for the first time in a year.

"Are you really staying here, Queen Elsa?" she continued.

"I'm afraid so," the elder girl confirmed.

"But why?"

"I can't risk causing the new Ice Age somewhere else. At least if I'm alone here, it can't get any worse."

"Actually, I think Arendelle might be part of the problem. I bet the castle was all locked up for those thirteen years because of your magic, right? So that's thirteen years of bad memories right there. Then we've got everyone finding out again last year and you having to flee, which I'd say probably sucked. There's also you being taken prisoner, sentenced to death, and almost dying. And, of course Anna's death. Then you locked yourself up again, and ran away back to isolation again. That's fourteen years of terrible happenings all centered around Arendelle, especially the castle. That's almost two thirds of your life! You can't honestly believe it's got _nothing_ to do with living in the place of your worst moments. I say if you get out of here, you'll be able to forget all this stuff and move on. You might manage to control your powers."

"I seriously doubt that. I'm sorry, but I can't."

"No. You're coming with me. I want to prove to you that you can. And the only way to do that is to have you come with me to whatever new kingdom we're going to live in. If you freeze it, we'll move everyone again and you can stay here or there, whichever you choose. And if you don't, well, nothing will have gone wrong so there will be nothing to change."

The Queen of Arendelle sighed. There was no changing this girl's mind, was there? She was stubborn, just like Anna had been. She was more like her sister than the first impression showed.

"Fine," Elsa agreed. "I'll come."

Their conversation had managed to carry all the way to the castle. The heavy doors slammed behind the girls now that everyone was inside. The people were crowded into the ballroom, awaiting instructions. Queen Elsa strode to the front and turned to address her people.

"People of Arendelle!" she announced. "I have gathered you all here to inform you that Arendelle is unsafe to continue living here, and, with the help of a friend, you will be evacuated to new locations! We can only transport a few at a time, however, so in the meantime. I invite you to rest up. If you require food, there is hot soup in the kitchens ready for you to eat. If you need a bed to sleep, a servant can direct you to an open – and warm – room. If you need medical assistance, we have someone here to help you. If you need none of these, you are welcome to relax in one of the sitting rooms, or you can stay here in the ballroom until you can leave."

A nervous murmur traveled through the crowd. One by one, the people reluctantly wandered off to what they need. As they spent more time in the castle, they realized they were, in fact, safe, and could peacefully stay there. They became more welcoming to the castle staff and each other, and soon it was as if no harsh words had ever been exchanged and no hard feelings had ever been felt. The atmosphere grew warmer and warmer, but everyone put it off to simply the now busy halls and rooms.

Meanwhile, the two Elsa's remained in the ballroom.

"Queen Elsa?" The younger caught the attention of the older. "You will be leaving last, correct?"

"Yes, I will be making sure everyone is gone and safe before I myself leave. Why?"

"Do you think I could keep with you? You already promised you would leave, and it's not like I don't trust you or anything and that's why I want to stay with you. It's just... I'd like to ask a favor of you, but it would probably be best if we stayed in Arendelle to do it."

"What do you need?"

"Um, well... Remember how I told you my mother died in a fire? I kind of... _caused_ said fire. And, it's not like I accidentally let the fire in the fireplace get out of hand, and I managed to get out while she didn't. I was engulfed in flames. Both of us were."

"But – How on earth are you here talking to me, then?"

The younger extended her hand, palm up. She closed here eyes and took a deep breath. A tongue of fire erupted from her hand, causing the elder Elsa to jump back. Quickly, the younger closed her hand on the flame, extinguishing it. She opened her eyes, her face as pale as the snow outside.

"Please," the younger pleaded. "I can't control it. The concentration it takes for me just to make that one flame is too much to handle. My mother told me to light a new fire, but we didn't have any matches or anything. She told me to just use my powers, and I didn't want to disappoint her. I didn't think it would end so terribly. Will you please teach me? How did you manage for so long without hurting anyone?"

"I didn't. The reason the castle was locked up was because I accidentally hurt Anna. We managed to save her then, because it was not a severe as it was this time. But I was locked away in my room, and I couldn't control it even then. I lived in a room filled with ice."

"But what about before then? You never hurt anyone before you were locked away! How did you manage then?"

The queen was about to admit she did not know when a servant hurried up.

"My queen! My queen! Come outside!"

Both girls were confused as to what this could mean, but the servant was not elaborating. They shrugged, deciding it couldn't hurt anyone to just see what the servant was talking about, and followed him out.

The sight that met their eyes when they stepped foot out the door was unbelievable. The sun shone hot and bright in their eyes. The sweltering heat of mid-August flooded into the castle. Both girls stood with their mouths gaping open as Kristoff walked across the courtyard from the direction of the stables.

"What did I tell you? 'Love will thaw.'"

"I thought you were talking about love for a single person!"

"Well apparently love for a whole group of people works, too." Kristoff's mouth turned up in a smug smirk. "Because it looks like I was right." He noticed the younger Elsa, whose resemblance of Anna caused a twinge of grief, reminding Kristoff of his true love the way she did. "Who's this?" he asked.

The younger extended her hand for him to shake. "My name is Elsa."

"My apprentice," the older added. "I've agreed to teach her how to control her magic."

"More like we'll both be figuring out how to control our magic together," the younger laughed.

"Well, I am teaching you this: First lesson is love will thaw. It might also fix things burnt to a crisp, but I'd rather not test that theory. Don't use magic when you're mad, scared, or stressed. We don't want Arendelle burned to a crisp, do we?"

* * *

**For the record, I'm terribly sorry at how confusing the whole "two Elsas" thing may be, as I got confused just writing it. Anyways, hope you liked it while it lasted!**


End file.
